


Claire de Lune

by Ochatoame



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 08:43:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15926879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ochatoame/pseuds/Ochatoame
Summary: Clementine awakens from a chilling nightmare only to wander the old schoolhouse and listen to the sounds of a melacholy heart.





	Claire de Lune

**Author's Note:**

> Genre: Angst.  
> Pairings: Louis & Clementine.  
> Characters: AJ (cameo), Louis, Clementine, Marlon (mentioned), Christa (mentioned), Duck (mentioned), Carver (mentioned), Kenny (mentioned), Jane (mentioned), Sarah (mentioned), Javier Garcia (mentioned), Lee (mentioned).  
> Warnings: SPOILERS FOR EPISODE ONE, IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED/PLAYED EPISODE ONE, DO NOT READ.

She bolted awake in a cold sweat, gasps escaping her as golden eyes widened. Her hands balled into fists into her sheets until her knuckles turned white. Remaining like this for a few minutes until she regained her composure, she slowly sat up in bed. Her eyes shifted to the bed opposite of hers. AJ slept soundly, as if this hell on earth didn't exist, as if the dead weren't walking, as if he didn't just shoot Marlon through the skull only a few hours ago.

A shudder ran down her spine as thunder boomed in the distance and lightning illuminated the room if only for a moment, her thoughts shifting over to Carver, that cruel man with a iron fist, for a split second. _He shows no consideration for his actions... he is only a child, he only wanted to do the right thing, I'm all that he has,_ Clementine reassured herself, listening to the rain beat down on the roof. _If I look back, I am lost,_ she thought. Deciding she needed some air, Clem gently rose from her bed and tiptoed towards AJ's own. Pressing a soft kiss to her little goofball's forehead, she grabbed the candlestand, lit the candle and left the room. Walking alone in the darkness of the halls with only the candlelight guiding her, she heard the sound of piano keys softly playing in the distance. A pang of sadness touched her heart. Louis would not be sleeping tonight, she knew. His best friend had died only a few hours ago, after all. Then again, the girl supposed that none of them would be sleeping tonight. It had astonished them all.

How could you sleep when someone you considered your best friend, your own brother, left the world? Clementine did not have an answer to that. She never knew what that was like. She had never had any siblings or let alone any friends before the dead began walking. All she wanted was to go to Africa and go on a safari with her parents and make one big scrapbook of her adventures. Tears began to blur her vision before she blinked them away. _A storm is coming, I will not cry._

Proceeding to stride down the dimly illuminated hallway, she leaned in to peek into the room where they first met. There he sat, in his chair, his eyes seemingly unfocused, quiet breaths escaped him as he continued to play his melancholy song. She did not recognize it, was it a song that he had invented or was it one of the classics he was so passionate about? " _Claire de Lune_ , Debussy," Louis' solemn voice broke the pregnant silence, as if sensing her presence.

"It's... beautiful," Clementine murmured quietly, stepping inside and slowly walking up to him, the flame of the candle flickering quietly between them and illuminating them both. Taking a seat beside him, to which he did not protest, golden eyes watched as he played. He poured his heart and soul, and everything he had inside of him into his music. After a long while, he smiled ever so softly at her, and Clementine swore that the look on his face was the most saddest expression she had seen in a long time.

He looked far older than his mere eighteen years in that moment. "Thank you," he whispered. In the golden light, she could see the sadness and the grief in his eyes. The same eyes as mine, Clem thought. It was at that moment that she remembered the way she watched her parents' lifeless bodies walk the streets of Savannah, blind and deaf to their daughter's cries, remembered Christa as she screamed in anguish as she brought her child into the world, the laughter of children as she and Duck ran across the fields together, remembered Kenny's hearty laughter and how he slowly lost his mind through all that had damaged him, she remembered Jane and the determined look in her eyes (and the way she looked so frightened moments before she died, Jane, Jane, it rhymes with pain), Sarah with her shy smiles, Javier with his bat at the ready... and most of all, she still remembered Lee and his embrace. Clementine wanted nothing more than to run past the threshold dividing them and embrace him after all these years.

_They were all good people... and this cruel world took them all away from me._

They sat there alone in the darkness together with only the candlelight illuminating the room. Scented candles they were, she realized, and they smelled like roses, vanilla, lavender and the ocean. Brody wanted to visit the sea with her... but that dream of hers would never be fulfilled. The dead could never live their dreams. The man in front of her was not the Louis she had met two days ago, bright like the sun, charming and suave, a boy with a heart of gold unlike anyone she had ever known. "Thank you for checking up on me, Clem, but I'll be fine." he murmured quietly in the darkness, his gaze focused on the notes in front of him.

Shaking her head, she couldn't resist, "You're a **_terrible_** liar," she insisted, "Louis, _look_ at me." His breath hitched, and his dark chocolate brown eyes locked with her golden hues in that moment. "AJ didn't know any better... he only wanted to protect me, you know that, right?" she asked him quietly.

Louis inhaled deeply and slowly nodded his head, "I know," he swallowed, his eyes shifting away from her and returned his focus to the piano in front of him. He looked all but lost in the world. Slowly rising to his feet, he stood; Clem followed suit. "You should get some sleep, count some sheep." He teased in that singsong voice of his, albeit his tone was much quieter, but it was still clear he was trying to lighten the mood for at least a while.

She didn't buy that facade for a second, she knew all about masks and illusions and what it did to people when they began living the lie. "I'm not going anywhere," she whispered, slowly stepping towards him. He had always been there for her, she wasn't going to turn away while he suffered in the dark, not when he'd almost taken a bullet for her. They had never been this close before, Clementine realized, so close that she could smell his cinnamon scent. They were inches away from each other. "You loved him," she began, "You loved Marlon like he was your brother... I know he haunts your every footstep, demanding why you didn't step forward, why you didn't save your best friend." Louis stiffened, his brown gaze hyper-focused on her, listening to her every word. "I know what that feels like, to lose someone you love, I live with it everyday," Clementine continued quietly, her hand slowly reaching out to brush against his fingertips, to intertwine his with her own, "But... Marlon would want you to survive... to **_live_**." She leaned in closer, stopping a few inches away from his face, "I... I need you now, more than ever, Louis... we **all** need you."

A few seconds later, he leaned in too, hesitantly, and finally, "I'm still... I'm still in here trying. Okay? I'm still in here... Just don't give up on me. Please, don't give up on me." He rasped. Clementine shook her head and murmured, _**"Never."**_

It was then at that moment that she knew. This was the boy she could slowly grow to love and adore. A little bit messy, a little bit ruined, a beautiful disaster. _Just like me._

A soft smile graced his features then, _"Avoir elle est avoir les etoiles,"_ he whispered ever so softly. Clementine had never been taught in the French language, but the words fell so beautifully from his lips that she didn't even want to ask for a translation.

Standing up on her tiptoes, she pressed a soft kiss to his dark, freckled cheek. "Thank you, Louis.. for _everything_." She said, meaning it.

He slowly but surely turned away from her, but brushed his fingertips against her cheek as he did so, but he did not walk away. The candlelight flickered and the silver moonlight filtered through the bay window, illuminating them both. She saw him begin trembling and immediately, she wrapped her arms around him tightly and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Sagging against her, Louis finally gave up, shoulders shaking as tears fell freely from his eyes, soft, tiny breaths escaping him. "I thought..." He covered his face with his hand, trying to hide them from her. "I thought maybe I..." His voice cracked, making him sound as broken and vulnerable as he truly felt within him. His free hand sought her arms, and he squeezed. "…Maybe I could've done _something_." He whispered, sobbing.

Clementine only hugged him tighter.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! I know this has nothing to do with Audaces Fortuna Juvat or with Naruto in general, I just thought it was a bit of a refreshment to write something in another fandom. I've been loving this fandom for years but I never really got around to actually writing a literature piece on it because I didn't believe I would ever do the characters nor the setting justice. But I really love Clementine and I've always wanted to write her at least once, but I never really knew what context to write her in. So when Done Running came out, and I saw AJ and Clementine interact with Louis, I just HAD to write them together. They just got along so well, they had chemistry and intimacy and they were just... perfection, in my eyes.
> 
> "Avoir elle est avoir les etoiles." = "To have her is to have the stars." 
> 
> As you can see, I added in my pre-apocalypse Clementine and French-speaking Louis headcanons. I also wanted to clarify that Louis and Clementine wouldn't be smooching or be doing anything super lovey-dovey considering they just met like two days ago, it never sat right with me, especially since Marlon, Louis' best friend since before the outbreak just died a few hours ago, it certainly wouldn't be the right time and place. Now, I'm not sure if I'll be writing more Telltale's The Walking Dead content, because I have other projects to focus on, but regardless, I hope you enjoyed! Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
